Islam and Peace
The Policy of Peace in Islam How to attain normalcy in Jerusalem
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him some of Our Signs’ (17:1). Prior to the
emigration in early 622, the Prophet Muhammad
went on an extraordinary journey called Mi’raj
(Ascension) in the history of Islam. Through God’s
unseen arrangement, this journey took the Prophet
from Mecca to Jerusalem. There, according to the
belief of the Muslims, he performed a prayer in
congregation with all the Prophets who had been
his forerunners at the holy site of al-Masjid al-Aqsa
(al Bayt al-Maqdis).
Another reference to Jerusalem appears in one of
the sayings of the Prophet recorded in all the six
authentic books of Hadith with minor differences in
wording. According to this tradition, there are only
three mosques to which a journey may be lawfully
made for the purpose of saying one’s prayers – al-
Masjid al-Haram of Mecca, al-Masjid al-Nabi of
Medina and al-Masjid al-Aqsa of Jerusalem.
(Certain traditions use the name Masjid Ilia for the
Masjid al-Aqsa in Palestine.) Yet another tradition
tells us that there is a far greater reward for praying
in these three mosques than in any other mosque.
